An Accessible Newsletter
By: Office of Accessibility Staff
What makes a newsletter accessible?
- Is it just the newsletter itself?
- What about the process used to plan, write, edit, and publish?
- How do people with a variety of talents and abilities actively contribute?
The Office of Accessibility is part of Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), the IT agency for the state of Minnesota. We publish a monthly newsletter about accessibility topics. Individuals with disabilities are active participants in the workflow. The state of Minnesota’s accessibility policies and standard ensure that digital tools enable all employees, including people with disabilities, to complete work tasks. This applies to:
- The process of creating a newsletter, and
- The final product.
The final product (newsletter, blog posts) is also available to the public. Our standard requires that information available to the public is accessible.
A behind-the-scenes look at the Office of Accessibility’s newsletter may help you learn some best practices to improve the usability of your communication. Get the details on how we plan, edit, and test before publishing in An Accessible Newsletter.
The Role and Scope of Minnesota’s Technology Accessibility Advisory Committee
By: Jay Wyant, Chief Information Accessibility Officer
A 2009 law created the Office of Accessibility, which now operates as part of Minnesota IT Services (MNIT). The Office of Accessibility sponsors cross-agency work, and collaborates with digital accessibility coordinators who represent many agencies, boards, and commissions.
With all that work, did you know that there’s a committee that provides the Office with strategic direction and guidance?
The Technology Accessibility Advisory Committee (TAAC) is part of the MNIT governance structure. Members of the TAAC are leaders from one of three groups: state agencies, state disability organizations, and MNIT. It also includes one representative of the state’s Digital Accessibility Coordinators. Coordinators do the day-to-day work of implementing accessibility policies, procedures, and best practices.
Learn about the TAAC's:
- history
- role
- work as accessibility champions
- members
in The Role and Scope of Minnesota's Technology Accessibility Advisory Committee.
 Photo credit: Senate Media Services
Accessibility Comment Form for the Minnesota Legislature
The Office of Accessibility at Minnesota IT Services partners with other local, federal, and state organizations like the Legislative Reference Library (LRL) to share digital accessibility best practices and collaborate on common strategies.
The following article excerpt was adapted from its original publication in the LRL's Library News.
The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library serves the state’s Legislature and the citizens of Minnesota by ensuring access to essential information resources that support the legislative process and promote the understanding of state government.
The LRL recently launched a new system to track issues regarding digital accessibility on the Legislature's website. The Minnesota Legislature Accessibility & Usability Comment Form allows users to submit information about digital accessibility issues they've encountered on any legislative web page. The consolidation of digital accessibility comments allowed by this form will assist legislative staff in responding to major issues encountered across the many offices of the Legislature on a case-by-case basis. Although legislative staff will not directly respond to every comment individually, the form will allow staff to gather a sense of patterns of issues and staff will use the comments to prioritize digital accessibility improvements.
Read about:
- the Legislative Employee Working Group on the Legislature's Accessibility Measures,
- the LRL's accommodation request process,
and get the original full article on the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library Library News' website - New Accessibility Comment Form.
Tech Tip: VPAT Training Modules
According to Section508.gov, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT™) “is a document that explains how information and communication technology (ICT) products such as software, hardware, electronic content, and support documentation meet (conform to) the Revised 508 Standards for IT accessibility.” Organizations buying IT products often review this document when considering a purchase.
The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) released a set of free, self-paced online trainings. This announcement page includes a link to the YouTube channel with the list of training modules. It also has a link to their PowerPoint slide decks.
The modules include topics such as:
- Preparing to Write the ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report)
- What Makes a Good ACR?
- Your ACR is Filled Out…What’s Next?
- ACR Readers and Evaluators.
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